Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen are the two clear favourites to win the Europa League this year, and last Friday’s draw ensured that they won’t cross paths until the final, if they both make it to the Dublin showpiece.
If Jurgen Klopp’s side advance past Atalanta in the quarter-finals, they’d then face the winner of the Benfica v Marseille tie. On the other side of the draw, Xabi Alonso’s side meet West Ham next, with the winners then taking on either AC Milan or Roma.
While many Reds fans would likely have been relieved at being kept apart from the runaway Bundesliga leaders, who still haven’t lost a match all season, one journalist had actually been half-hoping to see the two teams paired together for a prospective semi-final.
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Writing for EOTK Insider, Neil Jones explained: “When the draw was made, some people were glad to have avoided Leverkusen. I actually think I wanted Liverpool to play them over two legs, especially to get Xabi Alonso back at Anfield and feel the love a little bit. I’m not sure he needs it, but perhaps just a reminder that this is a special place to come to.
“I’d have loved a semi-final second leg against Bayer Leverkusen for Liverpool – it would have been unbelievable! Imagine coming there with the game in the balance! I wouldn’t say I was hoping for Leverkusen, but I wouldn’t have been upset if Liverpool got it.
“I think the draw has worked out quite well for Liverpool in all facets otherwise, but I wouldn’t have been disappointed to see Liverpool get Leverkusen in the quarters or semis.”
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Jones’ logic for wanting Liverpool v Leverkusen in the last four, instead of waiting until the final, actually makes plenty of sense in the context of the Reds’ hierarchy trying to entice Alonso to take over from Klopp as our next manager in the summer.
Imagine if the two sides were to have met at Anfield in the second leg of the semi-finals, amid the narrative of many LFC fans wanting the 42-year-old to replace the German in the dugout a few weeks later.
There are plenty of examples to showcase why the L4 venue is a stadium like no other when a potential passage to a European final is at stake, and the extraordinary atmosphere which would’ve been generated if Leverkusen were the visitors would surely have left a huge impression on the Spaniard.
As it is, the prospect of Alonso coming up against Klopp in what’d be the 56-year-old’s Liverpool swansong in Dublin remains on course, and that too could make for an incredible occasion if it were to materialise.
The dream scenario would be for that mouth-watering final pairing to occur, with the Reds giving their iconic manager a triumphant, trophy-winning send-off before his opposite number in the other dugout takes the reins thereafter.
Surely that’s not too much to ask…!